A Sensei's Feelings Are Returned
by iluvtornado3
Summary: A sensei develops feelings for his student even though he knows it is wrong. How does his student develop feelings for him? Will these two love-birds give up everything to be together?
1. Chapter 1

_Flashback--_

_**Training Field 3, 2:13 P.M.**_

_Three young Genin's stood in the middle of the training field, waiting for their Sensei to arrive. One student was annoying the other two by complaining about how late their Sensei was. The other two were trying to ignore their loud obnoxious teammate, but were having a difficult time seeing as he wouldn't shut up._

_Suddenly, in the middle of one of the loud Genin's many rants, their Sensei appeared in a cloud of smoke. All three students looked over to where the smoke started to dissipate, surprised at their Sensei's sudden, and late, entrance._

"_Yo. Konnichiwa." Their Sensei said to them with one arm raised, waving at them with a big smile on his face. The three students didn't know what to say when they saw him acting as if he wasn't late at all. _

_At least, the two that weren't loud didn't know how to respond. The other Genin knew exactly how to respond to their Sensei's nonchalant attitude._

"_Sensei! Where have you been?! You're almost two hours late!" The loud Genin all but screamed at him. Their Sensei turned to face this loud mouthed ninja and his smile dropped immediately. _

"_Hm, you must be Naruto, correct?" Their Sensei asked him with a bored expression. The ninja broke out in a wide grin and nodded his head enthusiastically. _

"_Yep! That's me! You must be our new Sensei then, right?" Naruto asked him, wanting to find out their Sensei's name since he clearly already knew his. Their Sensei nodded his answer._

"_Hai, hai. That would be me. You can call me Kakashi." He said, turning to look at the other two students now. "You must be Sasuke." Kakashi said, his gaze falling on the tense and cold hearted Uchiha. Sasuke only grunted his response, not really caring if Kakashi knew it was him or not. _

_Kakashi's gaze then shifted to the pink-haired beauty that was standing next to him. Her liveliness brightened up the dark aura that was emanating off of Sasuke._

_Kakashi couldn't help but stare at her; he was captivated by her beauty. Her long pink locks fell to just the right height, not too far below her shoulders, and not too far above them. Her hair looked incredibly smooth and soft. He was almost tempted to reach out and feel it but he knew that he had to restrain himself._

_He knew that it was probably wrong to think of her like he was, but he didn't care about that too much. They were several years apart in age and he was her Sensei, but he was willing to take the risk of getting caught to let her know how he felt about her. He knew that he had only just met her, but he also knew that it was love at first sight, and nothing was going to stand in the way of his feelings for her. _

_He shook those thoughts from his head and made himself focus on the task at hand: introducing himself to his students and getting to know them. He focused his gaze back on Sakura and a smile broke out on his face._

"_And you must be Sakura." Kakashi stated as his smile grew even wider. Not that the three students could see it however, seeing as Kakashi never took off his mask. Sakura nodded her head and smiled back at Kakashi. _

"_Now that we have all met each other, it's time to get a little more acquainted." Kakashi said, turning to look at all three of his Genin. He had them all gather around the middle training post in the field and then made sure they were listening._

"_We're going to do a little training exercise where you three have to grab these two bells from me. You will only have a certain amount of time to do it, and the person who doesn't get a bell has to go without lunch. Understand?" They all nodded their head in agreement and then scattered off into the forest to hide._

_Several hours later, Naruto was the only one without a bell so he was forced to go without lunch. He was tied to the middle training post until lunchtime was over. After training had finished, Kakashi decided to give them one more piece of advice._

"_All three of you worked very hard today. But the one thing that you all need to work on more is teamwork. You each worked wonderfully by yourselves but if you don't have good teamwork, you will never be able to complete any mission. By this time next week, I expect you to work together a lot more. Understand?" Kakashi told them. The three students all nodded and then were dismissed to go home and rest._

_**They won't remember a thing I told them, **Kakashi sighed to himself._

_End Flashback_

_-----------------------------------------------------_

**Four Years Later--**

**Saturday, Training Field 3, 4:35 P.M. **

"Kaka-sensei! Kakashi-sensei!!" One student yelled to their teacher with obvious impatience, they had been trying to get his attention for several minutes now.

"Hm? Sorry, what?" Said teacher responded after his students finally stopped saying his name. All three students looked at him in surprise; their teacher had never zoned out on them like that before.

"We asked if our teamwork is any better from before! Pay attention, Kakashi-sensei!" The loud blond student decided to yell. Kakashi couldn't help but smile at his students antics. They had grown on him and he enjoyed their company now. They were fun and unique students to be around.

And one pink haired student had grown on him more than the others. He found himself staring at her more and more each day. He couldn't pull his eyes away from her beautiful face and he didn't really want to either.

Every time he saw her, he always wondered the same thing: _Does she feel as I do?_ He had no more time to think on the subject for his students were becoming increasingly impatient.

"Hm, yes your teamwork is doing better but it can still be improved. Sasuke, you need to get more involved with what your team is doing." Sasuke went to interrupt Kakashi but he just put his hand up, silencing him.

"I know that you may not like working with them, but that doesn't matter. They are your team now and you will start working with them. Get over your petty differences. Understand?" Kakashi looked at him and saw his eyes go wide once Kakashi was done speaking. Sasuke nodded his head in understanding, not expecting Kakashi to have spoke out like that.

Naruto and Sakura stood there staring at Kakashi in surprise as well. Their teacher had never spoken that much at one time, and he had never been that assertive before either. They all thought that Kakashi was more of the silent teacher type and that he didn't have it in him to be assertive like that. Apparently, he did have it in him but he never wanted to show it until now. Kakashi then turned to look at Sakura and Naruto with a hidden smile that they couldn't see.

"Now, your teamwork together is perfect. There are a few flaws with it but nothing major that would really affect how you two fight. I want you two to keep working together to improve your teamwork even more." Kakashi told them and they both nodded at the same time. Kakashi then walked back over to the tree he was previously sitting under, and sat back down.

"Now, go and train together for a few more hours and then you may all go home." All three students nodded with a simultaneous 'Hai!' and went back to the center of the training field. Naruto and Sakura decided to train together at first and Kakashi was extremely happy about that.

Kakashi couldn't help but watch Sakura as she was moving around training with Naruto. Her body moved in a way that none before it have. Kakashi had seen many girls move their body before, but none even come close to how Sakura's was moving on the field.

Her body was twisting and turning in fluid motions that made it look like she was born for it. Her movements flowed together perfectly and she never missed a beat. Her skin started to shine with a thin line of sweat and Kakashi almost forgot to breathe as Sakura faced him after dodging one of Naruto's attacks.

Sakura's shirt had fallen open a little more than usual and a drop of sweat was rolling down her skin and into her cleavage. Kakashi's visible eye followed that one drop until it disappeared from his view. Kakashi took a deep breath and gulped as he quickly looked away and back down to his Icha Icha novel, feeling as though he needed a cold shower. Sakura didn't seem to notice her Sensei staring and continued to train with Naruto, turning her back to Kakashi.

Kakashi stood up and put his favourite book away in his back pocket as he walked over to his students. Naruto and Sakura didn't notice him walk up and kept training until they finally turned to the side and saw Kakashi standing there.

"What's wrong, Kakashi-sensei? Did we do good?" Sakura asked him. He closed his one visible eye as the memory of that one bead of sweat replayed in his mind, and he nodded to her.

"Hai. You two did very good. Training is done for today. You all worked really hard today so I'm giving you a few days off from training. We'll meet here in about a week. I have a mission I have to attend to during that time so you guys may train on your own if you wish." Kakashi told the three of them. He saw Naruto's face drop in disappointment but knew that that was to be expected. Naruto hated not training but at least he could train on his own until Kakashi got back.

"What kind of mission is it, Sensei?" His favourite pink-haired student asked him with honest curiosity.

"It's an A rank mission. Way to dangerous for you little kiddies." Kakashi said with a light chuckle. He saw all three of his students faces slowly get angry, which only made him smile more. Naruto, of course, was the first one to react to this remark.

"We're not 'little kiddies'! We're all 16 now so we're not young!" Naruto said almost yelling. He seemed to get a little too enthusiastic. Kakashi chuckled to himself again.

"I was only kidding, Naruto. But this mission is very dangerous. That is why I am the only one going. Well, me and several other Jounin as well. We will be back within a week though, so don't worry. Now, go on home and rest. No more questions." Kakashi told them, and they all nodded and left soon after. Kakashi stayed back in the training field for a little while to think about what had happened this afternoon.

_Was Sakura leading me on earlier? Did she turn to face me on purpose or was it just a coincidence? Did she not notice that I was storing straight at her? How could she not notice?_ So many questions were floating around in Kakashi's head, none of which he could come up with an answer for. Kakashi went over and sat down underneath the same tree he was under earlier, and leaned his head back against the trunk, trying to sort out everything that was going on in his head.

No matter how much he thought about it, he still couldn't come up with an answer. Kakashi knew that something like this shouldn't be bothering him as much as it was, but he couldn't help but think about it. His mind was constantly filled with thought of his pink-haired student and he couldn't comprehend as to why. He had a feeling about why he was thinking about her, but he tried to believe that _**that**_ wasn't the reason.

He knew if he developed feelings for her that were that deep, then he would be in big trouble for several reasons. One, relationships are not allowed between students and teachers. Two, the Hokage would have him stripped of his status and he would never be allowed to see Sakura again. Three, he doubted Sakura would even feel the same but after today, he was starting to rethink that. Four, it was just plain stupid to think that his own student would have those kinds of feelings for him, no matter if he had them for her or not. And five, he shouldn't even be having these kinds of feelings for his own student, let alone for someone who is several years younger than him.

Kakashi was already seen as a pervert because he is always reading his Icha Icha novels. He didn't need to be seen as more of a pervert because he was having feelings for someone who is 14 years younger than him. He knew that the whole village would banish him if he tried to act upon his feelings for Sakura. Kakashi knew that yet he still had the urge to tell Sakura how he felt to see if she felt the same way.

_Why am I letting this get me so worked up? I need to stop thinking about this or else I'll end up doing something that I'll regret, _Kakashi thought to himself as he stood up from under the tree. He had much more important things to worry about than this. Like his mission that he was supposed to be getting ready for. Kakashi shook these thoughts from his head one more time before leaving the training field and heading back to his house to pack up the necessary tools for his mission.

Kakashi walked into his house and immediately started to pack up several different ninja tools. He grabbed a handful of kunai, shuriken and food pills and put them into his bag. He also grabbed several summoning scrolls in case he would need his eight trustful ninja hounds. Kakashi sighed to himself as his pink-haired student once again occupied his thoughts.

Kakashi pushed the image of her face out of his mind and the left his house, heading for the front gates to meet the rest of the Jounin. As Kakashi got closer to the gates, he noticed that there were a lot more Jounin than he thought were going. He knew that Sarutobi Asuma, Yuuhi Kurenai, Shiranui Genma, Shizune, Maito Gai, and Hyuuga Neji were going. But he didn't realize that Nara Shikaku, Akimichi Chouza, Aburame Shibi, Yamanaka Inoichi were all going along with them, as well as several other Jounin that he didn't know too well.

Kakashi didn't think that this mission was actually going to be that dangerous but he saw that almost all of the Jounin in the village were going so it had to be pretty difficult. The only information Kakashi knew about this mission was that everyone was to track a missing nin from Kirigakure. No one, not even the Hokage, knew what this ninjas abilities were. No one knew a thing about him and yet, almost two dozen Jounin were being sent out to find and capture him.

_Everyone had better be on their toes for this mission, _Kakashi thought to himself as he arrived at the gates. Asuma, Gai and Genma all turned to look at him as he walked up and they all smiled.

"Yo." Asuma said, with a wave of his hand.

"Yo, Kakashi." Genma said, mimicking Asuma.

"Are you ready, Kakashi-san?! This is our first mission together in several years!!" Maito Gai yelled with a little too much enthusiasm. Kakashi could only wince in response to his cheerfulness.

"As always, your very enthusiastic about this aren't you?" Kakashi asked and Gai only nodded with a wide grin on his face as he decided to do 100 push-ups before they left for their mission. Kakashi sighed and shook his head at his best friend/rivals antics. Asuma and Genma decided to ignore Gai and walked over to Kakashi.

"So, are you ready? I hear this mission is going to be more dangerous than we thought." Asuma said.

"Hai, I'm always up for a challenge. We still don't know anything about our opponent, do we?" Kakashi asked them.

"Nope. No one knows anything. Everyone who gets close to this missing nin ends up dead or badly injured, to the point where they bleed out and die. No one has been able to bring back any information on him yet. So we have to be extremely careful around him." Genma explained to the both of them.

"Alright, is everybody ready?" Someone shouted above the noise of the curious Jounin's. Everyone immediately quieted down and turned to look at who was speaking, to see none other than Shizune.

"We're going to head out in just a few minutes. First, we have to set up the teams so that everyone knows what their part is in this mission." Shizune told them. After several minutes of sorting out who was going to be with who, everyone was prepared to go. Kakashi luckily got paired with Neji, Shizune and Genma on Team C. Team C's job was to swoop in and attack the missing ninja while the other teams distracted him. Kakashi and the rest of his team were going to be the last ones leaving the village, while the other teams tracked down the missing ninja and started to distract him.

As the other five teams left the village, bounding into the trees in front of him, Kakashi had two questions go through his mind.

_Will I come out of this mission alive? Will I be able to see Sakura's face again?_

_----------------------------------------------------------_

_**A/N:: Please review and let me know if you liked it so far or not! The mission that Kakashi is going on will be explained even more in the next chapter. I just touched on it a little bit in this one!**_


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N:: Sorry this update is so late! I've been busy with school and things but I'm glad to finally have this chapter done. I hope you all like it! Please review and let me know!**

_Will I come out of this mission alive? Will I be able to see Sakura's face again?_

Those two thoughts kept going through Kakashi's head the whole time he and his team were heading for their target. He also couldn't stop thinking about when he first got assigned to this mission. He felt as though the floor had dropped beneath him and he was just floating in space, without a clue as to what was going on. Tsunade threw this mission at him out of no where and he wanted to reject it, but he knew that he couldn't.

_Flashback-_

_**Wednesday, Tsunade's Office, 5:02 P.M.**_

_There was a heavy knock on the door and a 'Come in!' could be heard from within. Kakashi opened the door and walked in, standing in the middle of the room. Tsunade looked up from the paperwork that she was actually doing, and smiled when she saw it was Kakashi._

"_You called for me, Hokage-sama?" Kakashi asked, respectfully._

"_Hai, I did. Kakashi, I need you and some other Jounin to go on an A-ranked mission that will be very dangerous." Tsunade told him._

"_What are the details of the mission, then?" Kakashi asked. Tsunade pulled out a file that read '**TOP SECRET**' on the front in big red letters. Tsunade held it out for Kakashi to take, which he did, taking a seat in front of Tsunade's desk that was cluttered with papers._

_Kakashi slowly opened the file with anticipation, not really knowing what to expect inside of it. As soon as Kakashi opened it, he was greeted with a picture of the man that he was supposed to find and kill. Kakashi looked up at Tsunade to make sure that he saw what he saw._

"_You're not seeing things, Kakashi. That is the man that you have to kill." Tsunade reaffirmed him. Kakashi sat there in disbelief as he stared at the picture of the man in front of him. _

"_But, I thought he was-"_

_End Flashback_

Kakashi remembered opening that file like it was just this morning. He couldn't believe that _**that**_ was the man they had to kill. Kakashi now understood why this mission needed so many Jounin on it. Kakashi shook his head free of all thoughts as Shizune motioned for him and the rest of his team to quickly follow her into the trees.

Kakashi jumped up next to Shizune and looked over at her, wondering if Tsunade had told her who it was that they had to kill.

"She did tell me, Kakashi-san. I was in disbelief as well but to be honest, anything is possible with him." Kakashi nodded his head in agreement and tried to think about how he was going to go about defeating their enemy. Kakashi knew that this mission wasn't going to be easy because of how dangerous this man was.

Shizune put her hand up silently and the rest of her team stopped behind her, knowing that now was the time to attack their target. Everyone knew it was time because suddenly, mist started to roll in on the ground, covering everything and making it so nobody could see a thing.

Kakashi knew what was happening all too well. He and his team were sitting ducks in the middle of the forest. They were in the middle of the open forest, sitting there waiting for their target to come out. Their target did come out in fact, but none of them knew it, until it was too late.

Suddenly, Neji's body slumped forward onto the ground without any warning. Kakashi quickly looked over and saw that his throat had been slit, silently and quickly.

"Shit! Shizune, heal him! Quickly!" Kakashi commanded, trying to take control of the situation. Kakashi knew what technique was just used. They all did.

The Silent Homicide Technique.

And Kakashi knew only one ninja that could do it so well based on sound alone. He was their target, someone Kakashi had fought before. Someone that Kakashi thought had been dead. He had seen him die in front of his eyes, and yet here he was.

**Zabuza Momochi.**

Kakashi was still in shock that this man was still alive but there was nothing he could do about it. He had to focus and take him down, for a second time. Kakashi was going to make sure that he was dead this time. Kakashi looked over at Shizune while she was trying to heal Neji. She looked up at him with tears in her eyes as she shook her head silently.

Kakashi figured that they wouldn't be able to heal Neji, but it never hurt to try. Kakashi knew there were going to be casualties but he was hoping that Neji wouldn't be one of them. Neji was a good fighter and would have been of great use to them on this mission.

There was no looking in the past now. What happened was done and over with. He motioned for Shizune to stand back up, and as soon as she did, another Jounin's body slumped forward and fell to the ground off of a tree. This missing ninja wasn't fooling around. He clearly knew what they were doing there and he wasn't going to tolerate being killed.

Kakashi and the rest of his team got back-to-back so that they could see in all directions at once. The mist around them continued to hinder their view but they wouldn't let that deter them from their mission. Kakashi moved his headband from in front of his eye, knowing that he needed his Sharingan to defeat this enemy. Or at least to have a chance against him.

Kakashi remembered the Hidden Mist Technique from the last time he fought Zabuza. He quickly put his hands in the hand seal and tried to release the jutsu, but it didn't go away; it seemed to get worse and caused more mist appear. Kakashi didn't understand what was going on so he tried once more but soon stopped when even more mist came rolling in. Suddenly, laughing could be heard from all around, not giving away the enemy's position at all.

"That jutsu is impossible to release now. No matter how hard you try, the mist only gets worse. You're just making things harder on yourself." A familiar voice stated as Kakashi finally pinpointed where he was stationed at. Kakashi quickly threw several kunai in their enemy's direction, hearing them hit the tree instead of a body.

Kakashi had his Sharingan scanning at full speed, looking for any move that his enemy was going to make. The mist wasn't helping anything and it only made Kakashi think he was seeing movements when he really wasn't. Kakashi heard a slight movement behind him and quickly turned around, blocking Zabuza's sword with a kunai.

Kakashi could tell he had gotten stronger since he last fought him. His sword was slowly inching closer to his face and Kakashi couldn't hold him back any longer. Zabuza gave Kakashi a smirk and quickly shoved a kunai into his stomach, ripping it back out just as fast. Kakashi jumped back away from Zabuza, holding his stomach in surprise and pain, but quickly shrugged the wound off. He had more important things to worry about than a little wound like that.

Kakashi saw that Zabuza started making hand signals for a jutsu, one that Kakashi didn't recognize from the first time that they fought. Not wanting to be caught in Zabuza's jutsu, Kakashi made the hand signs for his Raikiri, quickly running towards Zabuza. Zabuza anticipated that Kakashi was going to attack him and he easily moved out of the way of Kakashi's attack.

Zabuza quickly grabbed his sword and swung it down on Kakashi, slicing part of his arm as he blocked it. Kakashi jumped away from him and threw a few kunai at him, which Zabuza easily dodged, disappearing from Kakashi's view. Kakashi didn't see how he moved that quickly, even with his Sharingan on.

Kakashi heard the slightest movement from behind him, and before he knew it, a broad sword was shoved into his lower back and through his stomach. Kakashi's eyes went wide with surprise and pain as he coughed up blood, falling to his knees as he wrapped his arm around his stomach to try and stop the bleeding.

"We meet again, _**Kakashi.**_" Zabuza whispered in his ear, pulling the sword out of Kakashi's stomach and back, only making the wound worse and enabling it to bleed freely now. "Tell your Hokage that I don't want to be bothered again. If you survive, that is." He chuckled, disappearing into the trees without a trace.

The mist slowly faded away and Shizune quickly ran over to Kakashi who was now lying on the ground, holding his wound. Shizune tried to heal him but could only stop the bleeding for a little while, long enough to get him back to the village to be healed. Shizune let out a shrill whistle, calling all other teams around to her. Maito Gai was the first to arrive and he ran over to Kakashi's now unconscious body in shock.

"Gai, we have to get him back to the village immediately! If we don't, then we will lose him." Gai nodded in response and helped Shizune to lift him. Gai picked up Kakashi, being careful to not touch his wound, and quickly hopped into the trees behind Shizune. They were going the fastest they could but Shizune still feared that Kakashi would not make it.

She knew that Konoha's medical ninja were the best around but she didn't know if they would be able to heal such a massive wound. Gai and Shizune arrived at the village within several minutes and they immediately made their way to the hospital. They burst through the doors and found several nurses who were ready and willing to help out. Gai set Kakashi onto a stretcher and he was wheeled off into the surgery department.

Sakura came out of one of her patients rooms to see what all the commotion was to be greeted with the sight of Shizune and Gai talking amongst themselves. Sakura closed her patients door and walked over to them to find out how the mission went.

"Shizune-san, Gai-sensei, how did the mission go?" Sakura asked them as she walked up. Both of them immediately stopped talking and turned to look at her.

"Not very well, I'm afraid. We had a few casualties and some injuries." Shizune explained, not giving away too much of what happened.

"Really? Were any of the injuries major?" Sakura asked, looking concerned. Shizune looked over at Gai to find that he wasn't even paying attention. Shizune could only sigh as she prepared herself to tell Sakura and for her reaction.

"One was. Kakashi-san was badly injured and is being healed right now." Shizune told her, waiting for how she would react. Sakura only stared at Shizune as the news sunk in. Her Sensei was injured? Was he going to be ok?

"I see. I'm glad you told me Shizune-san. I should go check to see if they need any help in healing him." Sakura said calmly, acting as if this news hadn't affected her at all. She turned and walked away from Gai and Shizune, heading in the direction of where Kakashi was.

Once Sakura was out of view of Shizune and Gai, she broke into a fast walk, almost running to where he was. She couldn't believe that he got hurt. Whatever enemy they were fighting must have been very dangerous and difficult to fight. Kakashi was a very good fighter and it took a lot to take him down.

Sakura realized that she had feelings for her Sensei, she couldn't deny that. She had had feelings for him for a while now but never had the courage to tell him. She was afraid that he wouldn't feel that same for her. Sakura broke out of her thoughts as she looked up and saw where she was standing.

Right in front of the room that Kakashi was being healed in. She could look in the window and see him lying there. She saw the deep wound in his stomach and feared that he woudn't wake up. Sakura had to get in there and help to save him. Sakura put on her medical gown and gloves and walked through the door, several thoughts going through her mind.

_Will he survive so I can see his face again? Does he feel the same as I do?_


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N:: I know that you were all surprised that Kakashi got taken down that easily, but it had to be done. It goes along with the rest of the story and will help in developing Kakashi and Sakura's relationship. And sorry that this update is so late! I have been very busy lately getting ready for college to start! So my updates might be further apart because of school. But I will try to update when I can. Hope you like this chapter! =]

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**Wednesday, Kakashi's Hospital Room, 1:30 P.M.**

Sakura walked into Kakashi's room with bandages and other medical supplies in hand. She had volunteered to oversee Kakashi's recovery and had been at the hospital more then she was at her own home. She set the medical supplies down on the table next to his bed and looked down at him.

Sakura could only stare at her former Sensei, knowing that he was lucky to make it out of that attack alive. His wound was deep and caused him to lose a lot of blood, but he was tough and pulled through it. It had been almost three weeks since the accident and Kakashi had still not awakened.

The wound that Zabuza had inflicted caused Kakashi to go into a small coma because of the shock of the attack. A coma that everyone hoped he would awake from soon. Nobody wanted to say it but they all feared it would take months, if not years, before he would wake up.

Sakura shook those thoughts from her head, not wanting to think about what she knew was true. She unwrapped his old bandages and put the new ones on carefully, trying not to make the wound worse. Sakura stared down at him, thinking back on some of the good times that she had had with Kakashi and her fellow teammates. Times that they might not be able to repeat because of Kakashi's condition.

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Flashback-

_**Two Years Ago-**_

_**Saturday, Nearby the Ichiraku Ramen Stand, 3:32 P.M.**_

"_Sakura-chaaaaan!" One loud mouthed ninja yelled to his teammate and friend. Sakura only rolled her eyes and ignored him more, not caring what he wanted to say. _

"_Sakura-chan! I have a plan to finally see Kakashi-sensei's face!" That got her attention. The three of them had been trying to reveal Kakashi's face for a long time now. Every time they tried, it was never successful and Kakashi had always caught on way before they even put their plan in motion, proving just how good of a ninja he really was, even with the most trivial matters. _

_Kakashi knew his students wanted to see his face but he rather liked having one mysterious aspect about himself. It drew many people to him but also made many shy away. No one understood why he wore the mask all the time; he was the only one who did, and he preferred to keep it that way. _

_Kakashi had worn the mask since he was a child and the habit just stuck with him. Nothing could change that about him but he didn't mind wearing it. He had gotten used to wearing it after all these years and he didn't plan on taking it off anytime soon. All three of his students knew that he didn't want to take it off, but it was still worth a shot to try and see if they could get him to. They had tried many times before and they hoped that this would be the day that they finally tricked him into revealing his face. _

_Unfortunately, they had still not caught on to the fact that he was always one step ahead of them. Kakashi had impeccable hearing and always heard them talking about their plan. They weren't very sneaky about it; they stood only a few feet away from him so he could hear without even straining his ears. _

_For being ninjas, they still had quite a bit to learn, even if they didn't realize it yet. Kakashi wasn't going to mention anything about him knowing their plans ahead of time. He enjoyed their shocked expressions when he would foil their plans at the very end. He liked playing along and acting like he had no idea what was going on, giving his students the hope that they would see his face. Only, at the end Kakashi would 'catch on' to their plan and bring their hopes back down. _

_Kakashi knew that every time he would 'discover' their plan, they would come back later and try again. But it was like a game to him and it gave his otherwise dull life entertainment. Kakashi could easily be annoyed by his three students, or by his one blonde student to be exact. But he wouldn't have it any other way. He had grown to like them and they had grown to like him. _

_He knew that none of the other Sensei's were as laid back as him, and he liked that. He liked being known throughout the village as the one teacher who didn't mind when his students messed up on a few missions or during training. That's just who his students were; clumsy and irresponsible at times but careful and precise at others. _

_His students actions depended on the task they were doing. If it was important or interesting to them, then they would do a good job with no mistakes. But if the mission held no interest to them, it would turn out horrible and Kakashi would have to step in and finish it correctly. And also take the blame when they reported back to the Hokage. _

_As Kakashi walked down the streets of Konoha, reading his favourite book, Icha Icha Paradise, he figured today had to be the day that his students were going to try out a new plan. It had been several weeks since the last one and they had never waited this long in between before. It was usually only a couple of days in between, if not a week. But for them to go almost a month without trying something was worrying Kakashi._

_Whatever their next plan was, it had to be something big if it took them a month to prepare it or come up with it. Kakashi figured that they probably just hadn't come up with anything because they had tried everything before now. Kakashi knew that he would be able to discover their plan before it happened, so he wasn't worried at all. Kakashi was drawn from his thoughts, and his book, by the sound of faint voices, and looked up to see his three students conversing secretively. _

_Kakashi couldn't help but creep closer, staying out of sight. He had seen them talk like this many times and it all lead to one thing._

_The removal of his mask. _

_Kakashi smiled to himself. He was right about today being the day for one of their plans. As Kakashi got closer, he heard every word that was spoken. _

"_So, what's this plan of yours, Naruto? Will it work this time? " Sakura asked, curious to put whatever it was into motion. A wide grin broke out on Naruto's face and Sakura couldn't help but smile back with excitement. _

"_Well, we take him out for ramen and he'll have to take his mask off to eat! So we can easily see his face as he's eating!" Naruto exclaimed, excitedly. Sakura and Sasuke both nodded their heads in agreement, realizing that Naruto had to be right. Nobody could eat with a mask on, right?_

"_Hm that is a good plan. We just need to find Kakashi-sensei now then." Sakura said. Naruto and Sasuke nodded and started to leave to go look for him. _

"_Where should we look for him?" Naruto asked, not having the slightest idea of where to start. _

"_Let's just look around the streets. He usually takes a walk on his day off." Sasuke answered, having seen Kakashi walking around a few days before. Naruto nodded and headed off in one direction to look for their Sensei, while Sasuke headed in the other direction, leaving Sakura to look where she chose. _

_Sakura decided she would walk towards the center of the village, figuring he would be somewhere around there. As Sakura headed in Kakashi's direction, Kakashi walked out with his book in hand, acting as if he hadn't heard their conversation. Sakura wasn't paying attention and nearly ran into Kakashi but stopped herself before she did. _

"_Kakashi-sensei! I was just looking for you!" Sakura exclaimed, getting Kakashi's attention and making him put his book away. _

"_Is that so? What for?" Kakashi asked, seeming curious even though he already knew the answer. _

"_Sasuke, Naruto and I want to take you out for ramen. Our treat!" Sakura said while she walked with him to the Ichiraku Ramen stand where Naruto and Sasuke were waiting. They all sat down and Kakashi crossed his arms, looking over at them. _

"_Here you go." The owner said, setting Kakashi's bowl of ramen in front of him. _

"_But it's really unusual for all three of you to treat me. Or are you scheming something?" Kakashi asked, looking at the three of them suspiciously. They all got wide eyed and shook their heads._

"_W-What are you talking about?" Naruto asked._

"_It's just to celebrate you getting out of the hospital." Sakura said, trying to change the subject. "N-Now, eat up!" Sakura said, gesturing with her hand towards the bowl of ramen._

"_Hai, hai, very well." Kakashi agreed, reaching for a pair of chopsticks and breaking them apart. He could tell that the three of them were staring intently at him, watching to see if he would take his mask off. Kakashi reached for his mask and just as he started to pull it down, Ino and the rest of her team appeared, giving him the break he needed. _

_He quickly pulled down his mask and ate his food before his students could see him. Smiling to himself, he put his chopsticks over his bowl and put his hands together. _

"_Thank you for the food. That was good." Kakashi said, pushing his bowl back towards the counter. All three of his students stared at him. _

"_So fast!" They all said together and Kakashi looked over at them. _

"_Huh? Is something wrong?" Kakashi asked them but they all shook their heads._

"_It's nothing." Sakura said quickly. Naruto pointed towards the owner and his daughter, noticing that they were entranced and staring at Kakashi. _

"_I REALLY want to know!" All three of his students said at the same time. For the rest of the day and several days after that, they followed him around town to try and see him without his mask. Each time, they failed and Kakashi had always caught on and their plan had never worked. _

_The three students decided to ask Kakashi to show them whats underneath and he agreed. All three were thinking of different things and when Kakashi pulled his mask down to reveal yet another mask, they were all devastated. This was one day that the three of them would never forget._

_End Flashback_

* * *

Sakura remembered that day as if it was yesterday and couldn't help but smile to herself. The three of them had a lot of fun trying to find out what was underneath Kakashi's mask. In the end, all they got to see was another mask which was disappointing but it was still a fun day for them. Sakura could have sat there and thought about the good times they all had with Kakashi, if it wasn't for the fact that she heard a soft voice talking to her.

She snapped out of her thoughts and looked around and saw nobody in the room. The only other person there with her was Kakashi, and there was no way he was talking. He was in a coma that he wasn't going to wake up from anytime soon. Sakura stood up and threw away the old bandages that she had taken off of Kakashi's wound. Sakura had her back turned and heard the same soft voice as before. She quickly turned around to see that Kakashi's mouth was moving slightly.

"S-S-Saku-Sakura..." Kakashi whispered, barely audible. Sakura only heard him because she was so close to him. She knelt down beside his bed and placed her hand on his shoulder gently.

"Kakashi-sensei?" Sakura asked, surprised. She didn't think he would be awake for a while but she was relieved that he did. She was afraid that he would be in his coma for months and she didn't want to wait that long to see his face again. Sakura quickly got up and ran out his room, running into Tsunade's office.

"Tsunade-sama! Kakashi-sensei is awake! He just woke up." Sakura exclaimed quickly with a smile on her face.

"Are you certain he's awake?" Tsunade asked, and Sakura nodded in response, motioning for Tsunade to follow her back into Kakashi's room to see for herself. The two of them walked back to Kakashi's room and Tsunade saw that Kakashi was indeed awake. He was talking softly to himself, trying to get someones attention. Tsunade quickly walked over to his bed side and put her hand on his shoulder, trying to get him to wake up a little bit more so that they could understand him better. Tsunade stood up after she saw that Kakashi had fallen back asleep and turned to Sakura.

"Let him rest for now. Come back later to check up on him and let me know if he's doing any better." Tsunade told her and Sakura nodded in response. Tsunade left Kakashi's room and quickly made her way back to her office. Sakura gave Kakashi one more glance and then followed Tsunade, leaving his room and heading home for the night.

* * *

**Friday, Kakashi's Hospital Room, 2:36 P.M.**

Sakura casually walked into Kakashi's room, expecting him to still be in bed asleep.

She was very wrong.

Kakashi happened to be standing at the window, looking out as if longing to be free and not caged up in the hospital. He had always hated hospitals and he preferred not to be in them longer than he had to. He knew Sakura had walked in; he heard the door open and had felt her chakra signature.

Sakura quickly shook off her surprise and walked over to Kakashi, grabbing his arm and pushing him back into the bed.

"You are not ready to be out of bed yet, Kakashi-sensei. You still have to rest. Your wound isn't fully healed yet." Sakura told him as she made him sit back in the bed, pulling the covers back up to his waist.

"Hai, hai. That's what the other nurses said. But I feel fine. Sakura, you have to let me out of here. You know I can't stand hospitals. Can't you let me go home and take care of me there?" Kakashi asked, sounding desperate. Sakura knew all too well that he didn't like hospitals but there was nothing she could do. Without Tsunade's permission, Kakashi would not be able to leave.

"I could ask Tsunade-sama for you but if she says no then you have to stay here and listen to what the nurses say. Understood?"

"Hai, hai. Very well." Kakashi said, secretly knowing that the Hokage would say yes to his request.

* * *

**Tsunade's Office, 2:50 P.M.**

"Ehhhhh? You're going to let him go home!" Sakura exclaimed, surprised at Tsunade's answer. Tsunade smiled and nodded in response.

"Why not? He doesn't like hospitals so why make him suffer in one? However, the only way I will let him go is if you agree to watch over him. You're the best nurse for the job and I don't want anyone else messing up his recovery." Tsunade told Sakura. Sakura had a feeling that Tsunade would say that, but she didn't mind. After all, she had recently begun to develop feelings for Kakashi. Feelings that she didn't quite understand yet.

Sakura knew that the feelings she had were wrong but she couldn't help it. Kakashi was just so attractive and handsome, even though she couldn't see his face. She liked that mysterious aspect about him. It was what drew her to him in the first place. She had gotten used to his quiet demeanor; it made her feel comfortable when around him. She felt like all her worries were gone, even if it was just for a short time. Sakura soon snapped out of her thoughts to think about the task at hand, whether or not she wanted to be at Kakashi's house with him.

Alone.

With no one else there.

Sakura quickly reminded herself that nothing would or could happen between them. They had a student-teacher relationship and she was sure that Kakashi probably didn't feel for her what she did for him. Even if he did, they couldn't be together anyways. The village frowned upon relationships of that nature. They could both lose their jobs and be stripped of their titles as ninjas. Or worse, they could be kicked out of the village and never be allowed to return. Sakura certainly didn't want any of those things to happen and she knew that Kakashi wouldn't either.

Sakura had to wonder why Kakashi was so insistent on letting him go home, though. He usually never acted like that unless he was hiding something. A thought quickly popped in Sakura's head that she couldn't ignore.

_Did he want to go home because he knew I would be assigned as his nurse?_ Sakura attempted to shake that persisting thought from her head, knowing it was of no use. It stayed in the back of her mind more frequently than not. She was reminded of where she was and mentally slapped herself for getting so off track. Sakura looked up at Tsunade, who didn't seem fazed by the pink-haired girl's silence, and proceeded to tell her what she had decided.

"I understand, Tsunade-sama. And that's perfectly fine with me. I would be happy to watch over Kakashi-sensei and make sure he recovers accordingly." Sakura asserted, sounding like a true nurse who cared about her patients. She gave no hint as to what was going on in her mind as she looked Tsunade straight in the eyes. Tsunade's face lit up and she smiled happily at Sakura's decision. She was hoping that Sakura would say yes. There were no other nurses that she trusted as much to watch over a highly skilled Jounin like Kakashi, whose recovery was very important. Part of Tsunade's trust for Sakura was due to the fact that she had taught Sakura everything she knew about being a medic-nin. Sakura had turned out to be one of the best medic-nins out there. The only person who could compare, but in fact was actually better, was Hinata.

Hinata had practiced her medical abilities much more than Sakura had. She had learned the most advanced techniques and could heal almost any wound. Tsunade wished Hinata was here when Kakashi had gotten hurt; she could have healed him right then and there, and then they wouldn't have this issue. Unfortunately, she was out on a very important mission with her team and was too far away to make it back in time to heal Kakashi. Tsunade also knew that Hinata's father didn't approve of her being a medical ninja, and she didn't want to strain their relationship anymore than it already was. So it was probably a good thing that she wasn't here to heal Kakashi, even though it would have made things incredibly easier. Kakashi could have been healed and sent home,instead of being kept in the one place he despises.

Everyone knew that Kakashi hated being in hospitals but nobody knew why. All of his nurses in the past have tried to get him to explain to them, but he would always stay stubborn and not say anything. Time had not changed that about him. Even now when he is in the hospital, the nurses continued to ask him why he didn't like it but he still wouldn't say anything. He would always shrug it off and tell them that he didn't like sitting idle when he could be out doing a mission. However that was far from the truth and the nurses knew it but accepted his answer anyways and continued onto a new subject.

Tsunade knew he didn't like the hospital but there was nothing they could do until his wound healed enough to stop bleeding. If it wasn't such a major wound, he could have been taken care of from his home to begin with. But since it was a life threatening wound, he was forced to be taken care of in the hospital. He wasn't there that long but the amount of time he spent in one didn't matter. Even if it was just for a day, or a few hours, he couldn't stand it. Tsunade knew the reason why but never brought it up to anyone. It was something that she knew Kakashi would want to tell people himself. Tsunade snapped out her thoughts and turned back to face Sakura.

"That is great to hear, Sakura. Go let Kakashi know to give him time to get ready to leave. You'll need time to pack up some supplies as well. Make sure he recovers correctly. You know as well as I do that Kakashi won't let a mere wound like this stop him from being a ninja." Tsunade said with a smile on her face.

Sakura nodded and then walked out of her office and headed back to Kakashi's room. She knew that Kakashi would be ecstatic that he would be able to go home to be taken care of. Sakura was looking forward to taking care of him and making sure that everything went right. It was quite a bit of responsibility but clearly Tsunade had faith that she could do it. Sakura knew that this would be hard work and that she would probably regret it as soon as she got to his house, but for now she was looking forward to it.

* * *

**Kakashi's Hospital Room, 3:06 P.M.**

Sakura knocked on the door and heard a faint, 'Come in', from inside. She opened the door and stepped inside so she could give Kakashi the good news. She hadn't been gone long but in the 30 minutes of her absence Kakashi was up and moving around again. Sakura sighed to herself and walked over to her former Sensei.

"Kakashi-sensei, I told you that you can't get up yet." Sakura said, trying to get him to lie back down, even though he would be leaving soon anyways.

"Hai, hai. I know. But I heard the good news that I get to leave and I just couldn't contain myself. I was packing my things up so I could go on ahead and meet you at my house." Kakashi said with a smile on his face. Sakura looked taken aback for a moment, not expecting Kakashi to have known the news already. She figured one of the other nurses must have said something to him about it.

"Alright, that's fine. I have to pack up some medical supplies and then I will meet you at your place. When you get to your place, I want you to just lie down. Don't do anything too strenuous so your wound won't get bothered. I don't want it to open up again and start bleeding. Understand?" Sakura explained to him. He nodded his head in understanding and continued to pack his things up. Sakura left the room and headed into the supply closet to get the things she would need. As soon as she was gone, Kakashi let out a sigh and closed his eyes, trying not to focus on his pink-haired student.

He knew that he would have to try and control himself while Sakura was taking care of him. His feelings for her had developed more and became stronger. He knew that his feelings were wrong but he couldn't help it. The village might not approve of student-teacher relationships, but if it turned out that Sakura felt the same way, he wasn't going to let anything stand in his way. Things might become a little interesting at his house if she did feel the same. Kakashi could only hope as he grabbed his things and walked out of the hospital, heading towards his house.

Kakashi knew that he couldn't walk as fast as he wanted to, but he didn't mind as walking slow gave him the ability to take in his surroundings. He hadn't had the chance to grasp the peacefulness of the village lately. He had always been too focused on other things like his Icha Icha books or some important mission that he had coming up.

As Kakashi walked down the main streets of Konoha, he couldn't help but look around at all the people who were shopping or just walking around. He didn't make it obvious that he was looking but his visible eye saw everything that happened. Kakashi kept walking and soon left the hustle and bustle of the main streets of Konoha for the more quiet and secluded ones. The streets where he lived.

Kakashi was a quiet guy and didn't like to be around all the noise. He enjoyed living in the more remote areas of town that were far less inhabited. His house was on the farthest end of the village, with hardly any neighbors. That's what Kakashi liked though. He liked the solitude that the location of his house brought him. It gave him more comfort in the simple things of life and allowed him plenty of time to himself. There were times that he missed the more exciting aspects of everyday life but he would pull out his Icha Icha books and everything would be back to normal. Kakashi kept walking and soon arrived on the street that he wanted.

* * *

**Kakashi's House, 3:48 P.M.**

Kakashi arrived at his house and walked inside, tossing his things onto his couch as he closed the door behind him. Kakashi had a feeling that Sakura would think his place was plain and boring, but that wouldn't bother him. Sometimes he thought those same things as well but he never wanted to change how his place looked. He liked how simple his house was because it reflected his way of life and how he viewed things. His house was never messy and Kakashi cleaned it regularly. He couldn't stand living in a messy house and had to keep it sparkling clean. Kakashi hadn't gotten around to cleaning yet so there were some things that shouldn't belong in some rooms.

There were clothes in the living room that he still had to return to the bedroom. There were dirty dishes in the kitchen that were from several days ago. Kakashi knew that the only reason his place looked so messy was because he had been away for almost a month now. Since he went into that three week coma, he hadn't had the chance to be at home and clean up. Kakashi desperately wanted to clean up but he didn't want to aggravate his wound and have Sakura get mad at him for it.

_Sakura._

The pink-haired kunoichi kept popping up his mind, even when he was doing the most simple things. His feelings had developed even more for her while he was in his coma. Feelings that he knew he shouldn't have but he couldn't help himself. His student had gotten more beautiful over the years and he found himself staring at her more and more. He couldn't resist the temptation to look at her whenever they were training.

Her looks weren't the only thing that attracted his attention. Her body had grown even more as well. Everything she wore hugged her curves and showed them off to her teammates and her teacher. She was oblivious to how her looks were affecting Kakashi, and he knew it. That fact only made him look at her more. He never made it obvious that he was looking though. He would always look at her from behind his Icha Icha book, which made perfect cover for his wandering eye.

Kakashi had decided that he would try and tell Sakura of his feelings one of these days while she was here taking care of him. He wanted to find out if she felt the same way for him and if she did, then he would tell her. Kakashi shook his thoughts about Sakura out of his head for now and walked into his kitchen. He grabbed a jug of sake out of his fridge and headed back into his bedroom. He took a few big swigs of sake and sat down on his bed.

He let out a sigh of relief for not having to stay in the hospital and then laid back on the bed, crossing his arms behind his head. Kakashi glanced over at the clock, wondering how much longer Sakura would be. He had already been at his house for almost an hour. He knew she had to gather all the supplies she would need and things like that took time. Kakashi let his eyes drift shut and decided to take a small nap before she got here.

Things would become hectic when Sakura got here and Kakashi needed his rest. He had had a long day and was still exhausted from his wound. He didn't want to admit it, but the walk that he took to get to his house took a lot out of him. The walk opened his wound up again but it wasn't opened all the way, which was a good thing. Kakashi had re-bandaged it when he got back home but he knew that wouldn't last very long. Kakashi slowly drifted off to sleep, getting ready for what was to come.

* * *

**A/N:: I know this update is very late but I will try and post the next chapter as soon as possible! Please review and let me know if you like it! **


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